Humanity's role is communication

[stretch65]

Sometime between 1956 and 1965 I read either a novel or novella in which the author developed the story to support the idea that from the perspective of the universe the role of humanity was to be communicators or messengers. The author stated this explicitly, it didn't have to be inferred.

Does anyone know either the author or title of this work? If it helps, this would have been something available in the US.

Thanks so much!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The description is a little vague, but it might fit The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (1959), in which great events in human history are used as messages, the whole purpose of it just being to say "greetings."

Long plot sumary and analysis here:

http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/reading-vonnegut’s-novels-in-order-the-sirens-of-titan/

I also found myself chuckling at the idea that Stonehenge is really just a Tralfamadorian message to Salo that translates as, “Replacement part being rushed with all possible speed.” And the fact that Salo’s oh-so-important message for the galaxy (the message he’s traveled millions of miles and waited millions of years to deliver, mind you) is a single dot that means “greetings” was quite clever as well.

 

[stretch65]

Thanks for your input, but I am almost positive I was not reading Vonnegut at the age I was during this time. This reference nags at me because it became part of a foundational observation later supported by linguistics, geneticists, and developments in technology, and I wish to correctly attribute where I first read this.

 

[beenorthern]

I was going to suggest *Native Tongue* by Suzette Haden Elgin, but Wikipedia tells me it was published in 1984. SIGH ... It was a long shot anyway ...

 

[iansales]

Native Tongue is about a language invented by and for women.